St. Emilion, France

St. Emilion is blessed with two things--a UNESCO world heritage-listed Medieval town that is surrounded by beautiful vineyards. Thus, I decided to make a quick trip from Bordeaux.
The town’s architecture was similar to Sarlat’s, consisting of stone homes with wooden shutters. I guess I’ll never get sick of wandering down alleys with historic architecture.

As for the wineries, since I didn’t have a car, I was limited to the few wineries within walking distance. Many of these wineries have wine tasting by appointment only. Furthermore, many are closed for about 2 hours for lunch. Wine tasting in France is an informal affair. For example, it is less commercialized than in the U.S. and hours are not strict. I got a taste of the latter when I arrived at a winery during operating hours, only to find the doors shut and the staff nowhere to be found.

I only got a chance to visit one winery in town. I was amazed at the underground stone cellar, dating from Medieval times. This is definitely something they don’t have in the “new world”. As for the tasting, I sampled a series of Bordeaux reds (blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon) and whites (Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon). Several of the reds tasted “spicy”, which was interesting.

Bordeaux, France

I decided to visit Bordeaux as a base to explore the surrounding wine region, which reportedly produces some of the best vin in the world. I didn’t think much of the city before visiting, but once again, I have found a tourist jewel.

Besides its typical French classical architecture, Bordeaux is blessed with a riverbank that was crowded on this hot, spring day. My highlight of the day was attending an arts festival. The festival consisted of exhibitions (art, photography), concerts and improvisational theater. My favorite was the improv as the teens who performed it were quite amusing (thanks to Mathieu for the translation!).

What is amazing about Bordeaux (and every European city/town I have visited so far) is the multitude of cultural events available to the public. There is some movie, exhibit, concert or fair going on everyday and Bordeaux isn’t even a large city!